


Shelter

by Rin_chan32



Category: Houseki no Kuni
Genre: Mentions of Suicide, More tags will be added later on, Other, Phos is an orphan, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-19 20:32:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17008710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rin_chan32/pseuds/Rin_chan32
Summary: “And it's a long way forward, so trust in meI'll give them shelter, like you've done for meAnd I know, I'm not alone, you'll be watching over usUntil you're gone”Cinnabar is a suicidal college student in their early 20s, finding it difficult to to fit in with the rest of the people in their school and in society in general. After a failed suicide attempt, Diamond surprises them with the duty of taking care of Phosphophyllite— who is an orphan and looking for a family they can stay with.After not convincing the other that it wasn’t a good idea to let them take care of the child, Cinnabar takes the child under their wing. And from there, they watch their life change with Phosphophyllite by their side.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, yes I have been listening to Porter Robinson’s Shelter for the past month, how could you tell?  
> Anyways, I’m really excited to post this because I’m really proud of this and it’s my little birthday present to myself.

A small moan left Cinnabars closed lips as they started to wake up, closing their closed eyes tighter so the sun wouldn’t be blinding them. Their head moved away from the barely covered window and got comfortable in the bed, a groan leaving their lips as they rubbed their throbbing head. They opened their red eyes and looked at the wall, blinking a for a little bit as their body felt terrible and ached. And once they were fully awake, their lips turned into a large frown formed on their lips and a sigh came out of their lips and they rolled onto their back. “Shit!” They yelled loudly as they sat up from their bed, hiding their face in their hands as they felt their head continue to throb and their vision blackening from sitting up suddenly. “Shit, shit, shit!!”

 

They weren’t supposed to wake up and they _definitely_  shouldn’t have been breathing for a full 7 hours or however long they slept. Their plan was to take a shitton of pills that they had somewhere and then spend the rest of their hopefully last night drinking alcohol and what not before dying in their sleep. Then nothing would happen until Diamond broke into their apartment for some reason and then their body would be discovered and that would be then end of Cinnabar the useless gem with the hardness of two. They weren’t supposed to wake up breathing or anything, they were supposed to be dead from overdosing on some random pills they forgot about-- but instead they woke up and they have to deal with being a 20-something adult.

 

Cinnabar threw their pillow across the room, laying back down in their bed and threw their blanket over their head and sulked. They weren’t going to school today and they were just going to spend the entire day sulking from not being dead instead of talking to people and being productive. No way in hell were they about to go be with a ton of people who they never really liked in the first place.

 

Their plan of sulking already failed not even 10 minutes in when their phone rang loudly, making them stick the top of their head out of the blanket and glare at their phone angrily before they picked it up. “What?” 

 

“Hey Cinna!” It was Diamond-- the sickening sweet voice and oddly optimistic voice was nearly impossible to be unknown. “Are you going to-”

 

“No.” Cinnabar interrupted them before they could finish their sentence, making the other let out a sigh and stay quiet for a little bit as they gathered their thoughts together.

 

“Well… can you at least step out just for a little bit?”

 

“And why would I do that?” Their eyebrow raised as they found the others request to peculiar.

 

Diamond sighed once again, “Please, Cinnabar? I have something for you and I want to surprise you.”

 

“Bu-”

 

“It won’t take long, I promise. Just go to the store or something and when you get back I’ll be there and then leave.”

 

The Red gem listened to them for a little bit before they sighed, throwing the blanket off of them and going to their closet to put on actual clothes. “Fine, just make your visit quick.”

 

“Thank you!”

 

Cinnabar let out a heavy sigh as they pulled on an oversized hoodie over their head, pulling the hood to hide their red hair before they pulled on some shorts and slid their shoes on. They slid their phone in the pocket and left, letting out a deep a breath as they walked down the stairs and walked to the store. They used the back way, which took longer than the normal way to get to the store, but it avoided campus and that was what wanted to happen.  

 

They got some stuff to eat-- since they knew they had no food in the fridge or any of the cabinets-- before they paid with whatever money they had and went back to their apartment. While the red haired gem walked through the neighborhood with plastic sacks in their hand while hoping that Diamonds little surprise was worth it. 

 

Once they got close to the apartment complex they lived in, it wasn’t hard noticing Dia from their light hair that reflected the sun's light. They walked up the stairs and placed the bags on the ground, looking at the other with a frown as they took off hair hoodie. “What’s your little surprise?”

 

Diamond hummed as they rocked from side to side, “close your eyes and I’ll show you, I’m pretty sure that you’ll like it.”

 

Cinnabar’s frown grew as they let out a sigh, “fine,” they muttered as they shrugged their shoulders and waited for whatever the other had up their sleeve. It was a while of standing there before the door clicked open and a few of their fingers being grabbed and being leaded inside their apartment. There was a few shuffling and a couple of whispers from other voices before everything went silent before the others voice told them to open their eyes. 

 

They stood there for a while before they opened their red eyes and looked at the others smiling face, giving them a curious look before their eyes drifted down where they saw a child. They had overgrown messy teal hair and bright teal eyes, having either freckles along their nose and cheeks or dots of dirt. They also had a oversized shirt that was exposing their thin shoulder and a skirt where they pleats were folds were coming undone, shoes falling apart and all brown from dirt. 

 

It didn’t take Cinnabar even a second before they knew that Diamond had in store for them, “Dia, I-“

 

“This is Phosphophyllite,” they said, not even letting the other finish their sentence, “and you’re going to be fostering them until they find a proper family, okay?”

 

The red gem looked at the child before back at the other, sighing before they walked over to their classmate and rested their hand on their shoulder. “I need to talk to you in private.” They told the other softly. Diamond nodded, kneeling down and telling the younger one to wait there for a second.

 

They took the other to their messy room, closing the door and looking at the other with a sigh. The other looked at the other with a small frown as they sat down on the others bed. “Cinnabar, I-“

 

“Look at my room Dia, does it _look_  like I can take care of a child?” They asked, pointing at the pile of clothes and the empty cans of cans and whatnot on the floor. “I can’t even take care of myself on a daily basis, so why can I take care of someone else?”

 

The other sighed before they got up, “Cinnabar, Listen, I know that you can take care of someone else, you worry about people a lot. And you guys both need help in one way or another— you have a problem with your mental problems and everything, and they need a family. You need them in your life, I know you do.”

 

“But-“

 

“Plus you’re more qualified to take care of them than anyone else I know— you barely go to any of your classes and you don’t have any sports or activities that you do-“

 

“You aren’t listening-“

 

“Just take care of them for about 2 weeks and try it out, and if you still don’t want to take care of them then I’ll do it— okay?”

 

Cinnabar looked at them with a frown and realized that they weren’t going to get their point out, sighing and crossing their arms in front of their chest. “Fine,” They said, a grunt leaving their tightly closed lips as the other tightly hugged them. 

 

“I knew that you would do it!! You’re going to be great!!”

 

“Get off of me!!” They snapped, shoving the other off of them. 

 

The both of left the room and the other told the child sitting on the couch that the redhead was going to take care of them. Their soft voice whispered reassurances to them and said that Cinnabar was going to take great care of them even if they looked imitating. And with that, Diamond left the two of them in awkward silence. 

 

Phosphophyllite’s bright teal eyes looked at the adult curiously, blinking once or twice as they waited for the other to say something. The red gem looked back at them awkwardly before they cleared their throat, “do you…” they started, seeing the others eyes look at them curiously. “Do you want to help me uh.. carry stuff in?”

 

The child nodded before they slid off of the couch, their small feet kicking a little bit before they landed on the ground and followed the other outside. Cinnabar opened the door and went to the still-surprisingly bags outside of their front door, waiting for the child to join them to the pile. “Tell me if you need help, okay?” They asked, watching the child simply nod and pick up the bags they were given. 

 

The adult in the household went into the kitchen, placing things on the table, picking up the papers and whatnot to make more room for the others. When their back turned around to clear the table, the sound of a bag ripping and things falling onto the floor. The others small voice softly muttering “Ah,” as they looked at the fallen times around their feet. 

 

Cinnabar set the things to the side before they went over to the other and bent down to help them pick things up. “S-Sorry…” Phos muttered quietly, their voice shaking as their small hands bent down to help them pick things up. 

 

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” They replied, setting things down on the table and gently took the things the small child handed them. When their thin arms were empty, their red eyes caught the other sniffle as their wiped their eyes with the back of their hand. The red head sighed as they looked at the groceries in front of them. “Are you hungry?”

 

Phosphophyllite let out a small hum before they nodded.

 

“Do you want me to give you anything specifically?”

 

They shook their head. 

 

Cinnabar nodded before they looked into some of the bags on the table and pulled out something easy that they could make. They looked at the instructions of the side of the wrapper before they started to make it for the child, making a little extra so they could eat as well. As they stood in the kitchen and watched the food cook, their eyes looked around at the child walk around their apartment. 

 

They felt kind of bad for them because Diamond brought them unannounced and they had no time to prepare for another person staying with them. The red head especially hoped the wandering child didn’t go into their room and see all of the discarded clothes and alcohol bottles and cans scattered the floor. And luckily enough, they caught them with their hand resting on the doorknob. Their teal eyes looked at them curiously as their small fingers curved around the brass knob, the oversized shirt on their body nearly exposing their entire arm. 

 

“Your foods ready and it’s on the table,” they explained, watching their teal head nod and take their hand off of the doorknob. “I’ll join you in a little bit, I just need to get something from in here.” 

 

Phosphophyllite nodded once more with a small hum before they went back into the small kitchen to eat the food the other provided. Cinnabar’s red eyes watched them leave before they slid into their room and let out a stressful sigh. They looked around at their mess of a room before they grabbed the clothes on the ground and shoved them into the hamper. 

 

They ended up stepping into it to make it look like less clothes than it actually was in there and to see more of the floor. They then walked in circles for a bag of some sort, bending down and picking up all of the cans and bottles on the floor before shoving it in the back of their nearly empty closet. A sigh left their lips as they looked at their more presentable room, crawling on their bed and grabbing their wallet and leaving their room. 

 

The red gem went into the kitchen and sat down at the table, their eyes glancing over and looking at the other eat the food the other provided. They were going to ask if they liked it, but seeing how they ate it with small hums as each portion went into their mouth— they figured that the answer was pretty obvious there. Cinnabar looked at them for a few more seconds before they started to eat the food in front of them as well. 

 

When they were about halfway done with their food, they looked at the child next to them curiously. “Um… do you want to go to the store with me to get stuff…?”

 

Phosphophyllite nodded, their eyes looking up at the adult as they finished eating the rest of the food in front of them. The redhead looked them before they finished their food as well, getting up from the table with the plate and other things they brought out. The child in front of them looked at them before they gently pushed theirs over to the adult, a barely audible “thank you” leaving their lips. 

 

Cinnabar nodded, going over to the messy sink and setting the things on the side, getting ready to walk off before they remembered that they have a reputation to uphold now. They held in a sigh as they turned around and washed The-Who-knows-how-old-dishes around and inside the sink. It took shorter than they expected to have the surrounding area free of stained dishes, turning around to leave with the child and stopped when they disappeared. The red gem looked around the living room and made sure the door was closed before they went looking for the child once more. “I need to put a bell on them,” they muttered under their breath, imagining how it would be impossible to locate them in a loud area— like the store they were about to go to. 

 

The adult noticed their bedroom door cracked open a little bit before they opened it wider and saw the bobbing head of the others. Their unkempt teal was noticeable in the room as they looked into the others things and probably tried to see what kind of person they were based on what they had. Cinnabar watched them move around silently and move things around before they brought their knuckles to the door and lightly knocked, feeling bad as the other jumped from being startled. 

 

Phos’ face peered over the side of the bed, their bright teal eyes looking at the other nervously and waited for what they wanted to say. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Cinnabar took a few steps towards them, “Are you ready to leave?” They asked the other softly. 

 

The child nodded, their head disappearing from the side of the bed before they got up and went to the other. Cinnabar grabbed their keys and opened the door, holding it open for the child as the two of them left. 

 

Their red eyes watched the others hair flow in the wind before bouncing as the child hopped down each individual step. The redhead slowly followed the other, making sure that they didn’t step on the back of the others shoe or anything. 

 

Once the car was unlocked, Phosphophyllite climbed into the backseat and kicked their feet as they waited for the other to start the car and leave. Cinnabar looked behind them to see how messy the backseat was, but wasn’t as dirty as they expected it to be. A sigh of relief left their lips before they backed out and drove to the store for the second time that day.

 

The ride there was completely silent until the vehicle was in the parking lot, Cinnabar muttering “lets go” before they got up. Phos let out small grunts as their small body slid across the back seat to the the door, their small feet plopping onto the gravel. They looked up at the adult for a few seconds before they went to their side, their thin hand reaching up and holding the others hand. The redhead held their hand back and walked inside of the store with the other, constantly looking down to make sure that the child was by their side. 

 

The two of them walked around the store, eventually pushing around a cart as the child gave them things they wanted it. Cinnabar followed Phos around and looked at the things that they looked at in the store. And even though they told them that they could get whatever they want, Phosphophyllite would always give them a questioning look while holding what they wanted. 

 

Cinnabar noticed that not once did the small child went over to the large section with toys in it, they just picked out clothes, shoes, and whatnot. When they thought that they were done with their shopping, Phosphophyllite disappeared from their side. A panic rushed over their body, knowing that Diamond shouldn’t have given them the responsibility of a child since they lost them already. “Phos?” They called loudly, looking for the others bobbing teal head since they’ve only talked twice that day. 

 

When there wasn’t a small teal head in their sight, they sighed before they left the aisle they were in and went looking for them. They checked all the sections that they visited before looking at the places that they haven’t walked into. Cinnabar was about to go to the front to have the cashiers call for them over the intercom, they saw the others messy head looking at something. 

 

A sigh of relief left their lips before they approached them, reaching their hand down and moving a few strands of hair out of their face. Phosphophyllite jumped a little and looked at the other, seeming relieved before they looked back at the things they were focused on. There was a long moment of silence between them before the child grabbed a box and put it in the cart. “Do you need anything else?”

 

Phos shook their head, going over to the them and holding their hand once more before the two of them walked to the front together. Their bright teal eyes watched the adult and the worker make a small talk as they exchanged items and placed them in the bag. Phos’ small hands grabbed the lightest bag before they went out to the Cinnabar’s car that was parked a bit too far away. 

 

The red gem opened the trunk and put the things they bought inside, waiting for the child with them to toss in their bags and pull out a small box. They looked at them curiously before they closed the truck and got inside the front seat and drove home. 

 

Once they got into their apartment with the bags, Cinnabar made something for the both of them to eat before telling the younger one that they could take a bath. They nodded softly, sliding off of the chair they were sitting in before they gave the other a small box from the store. Before Cinnabar could ask any questions, Phosphophyllite scurried away and grab pajamas from the bag of clothes before retreating to the bathroom. 

 

They sat in silence for a little bit before they looked at the box, looking at the picture with a lit nightlight on the front. “Do I even have anymore light bulbs?” They asked themselves as they got up from their seat, opening the box and taking out the light before they searched their apartment for a something that fit in the hole. 

 

Cinnabar ended up considering themselves lucky while looking in a closet that they shoved random things in and found some that fit the hole. They screwed the lightbulb in and plugged it in to make sure that it worked— which it did so they left it on the table until the child came back. 

 

They cleaned up some more around their house and set the bags of trash outside so they could take it out tomorrow morning, the bathroom door clicking open once they came back inside. Phosphophyllite’s vibrant teal hair poked out from the small crack of the opened doorway, their hair dripping from the water. 

 

The red gem smiled at them softly, opening the door and handing their nightlight to them, “are you ready to go to sleep?”

 

“Mhm,” they hummed softly, standing on the tips of their toes to turn off the light and moved out into the lit  hallway. Cinnabar took them to the living room, moving the back of the couch to lay flat so they had more room to sleep. They also made sure that they had enough blankets and whatnot so they’d stay warm in the night, plugging in the nightlight before they went to their own room. 

 

Cinnabar let out a small sigh and got ready for bed themselves, turning off all of the lights and laying down in their bed. Their buried their head into their pillow and closed their eyes, laying there until they fell asleep. Unfortunately for them, it felt like forever for them to fall asleep, and it seemed like they weren’t the only one having some trouble. 

 

After a while of just laying in bed, they heard the light switch in the hallway click before their door creaked open. “Cinnabar…?” Phos’ soft voice asked, making the adult roll over to look at them curiously. 

 

“Yea?”

 

“Can I sleep with you tonight..?”

 

“Yea, you can sleep with me,” Cinnabar muttered, rolling back onto their side and closed their eyes again. They listened to the others feet shuffle against the carpet to the outlet on the other side of the room and plug in their nightlight. Phos then went back to the hallway, rushed back into the dimly lit room before closing the door and crawling into bed with the other. 

 

The red gem opened their eyes slightly as they watched the child go into bed, getting comfortable before they moved their freckled face closer to the others. Phosphophyllite let out a small sigh once they were comfortable, closing their eyes and rested their forehead on the others chest. Cinnabar watched them drift off to sleep before they ran their fingers through the others still wet hair before they fell asleep as well. 


	2. Chapter 2

Cinnabar let out a moan, rubbing their nose with their wrist before they moved their hair out of their face. They opened their eyes and looked at the brightly light room before they tried to roll onto their side and go back to sleep like they usually did. But, when they rolled over they saw a face next to them, making the red gem let out a small yelp before they scooted away from the other. They ended up falling off of the side of their bed and slammed their head onto the ground underneath them, laying there for at least 10 minutes before they got up. 

 

A few curse words left their mouth as they stumbled into the kitchen with their hand on their throbbing head, grabbing a frozen bag of something and putting it on their bump. The redhead sat on the ground for awhile as they let the pain reside from their head, staying there as they thought about everything they happened. 

 

They tried to commit suicide, Diamond persuaded them to foster a child, and said child burned all of their money that their parents gave them not even a week ago. Cinnabar closed their eyes and hid their head in their hands, the frozen bag slowly sliding downwards before crashing on the ground. They stayed like that for a while before they got up and went back to their room, quietly grabbing their phone from where they left it and retreated outside. 

 

The red gem grabbed the cold bag off of the floor before they unlocked their front door and took a small step outside and onto the balcony. One hand put the bag back onto their head while the other looked through contacts on their phone. Their thumb hovered over their mothers contact for a solid minute before they clicked on it and put their phone to their ear. They felt their body freeze up when they heard their mother's voice harshly say “hello”.

 

“H-Hey m-“

 

“Ugh, it’s you. What the hell do you want?” The other snapped, making the younger adult’s palm grow sweaty and their heart starting to beat like crazy. 

 

“Is it possible if I could uh… borrow some more money from you..?” Cinnabar asked nervously, gripping on the outside of their phone as they waited for their mothers reply. It only took a single angry sigh from her before they knew what the answer was going to be. 

 

“Are you kidding me? It’s barely been a full 2 weeks since we have you some damn money and you need more? What the hell are you doing with it, using all of it on cigarettes and other shit?”

 

“N-No, I have a child now and-“

 

“What the hell!? First you tell me that you spent all of your goddamn money and now you’re telling me that you went out and-“

 

Cinnabar’s body freezed up and they felt the blood rush to their cheeks and paint their face a light red. “No! My friend is having me foster a child for the time being, it’s nothing like that!” They protested, listening to the other sigh in some form of relief and waited for her to say something else. 

 

Their mother ended up asking questions and Phos, and Cinnabar wanted to say that they didn’t know what they were like because they didn’t really say anything because apologizing and asking them a question. But, knowing that if they said the 3-worded statement she’ll lash out so they just went the easy route and said that their a good kid. In the end, they got the money that they needed to live on and told themselves that they were never going to call their parents again. 

 

“You know, you don’t have to keep asking your parents for money all the time.”

 

Cinnabar jumped when an extra voice chipped in, nearly popping their neck to see who listened to their conversation. A frown formed on their face when they say Diamond’s soft smile as they stood at the top of the concrete staircase. “What do you want??” They asked, their voice unusually less harsh than they planned it to be. 

 

“Nothing, just came to deliver a message.” The other gem replied, starting to waltz over to them and lean on the railing. “Ghost said that they miss you and they wish that you’d come back.”

 

The red gems face turned a crimson red before they whipped their head around to hide the blush on their face. Ghost Quartz was the person Cinnabar hopelessly had a crush on and knew they didn’t like them back. The only reason why their feelings formed was because the other was the person who tried to talk to them and help them with things. They were also like them— quiet, didn’t care about popularity, and if you mentioned them, you would most likely get “who?” as an answer. 

 

Diamond only found out about their crush because Cinnabar got drunk and let it slip as they were ranting about school. Now they use them to persuade the other to come back to be with them, but it almost never works on the other. 

 

The gem next to them sighed with a sad smile, “didn’t work, huh?”

 

Cinnabar shook their head, still facing away from the other and waiting for the blood to reside from their face. “You can’t keep using stuff like that because I’m not going to go back no matter what you do.”

 

Diamond frowned, “you know, you don’t have to be scared to-“

 

“I’m not scared!” They yelled, sighing when their voice came out louder than they wanted it to. “I don’t fit in and you know that, no one sits by me in class and no one tries to talk to me when I’m alone. I don’t want to be in a place where my existence doesn’t matter to anyone.” They explained, looking at the other for a few short seconds before they looked back down at the ground. 

 

After that, it was silence between the two, guilt filling inside of the others chest when their friend didn’t say anything back for minutes. Cinnabar sighed before they turned their head to apologize for the sudden outburst. “I-“

 

“Do you want to go get something to eat?”

 

The red gem looked at the other, their eyes widened in surprise from the question, their head moving to nod at the others proposal. “Y-Yea, that’s fine…”

 

“That’s good,” Diamond said, moving from their spot and started to go back to the staircase that was a bit aways from Cinnabars apartment. “Go get Phos and I’ll meet you guys at my car, I’ll take you guys somewhere nice.”

 

The other opened their mouth to say something, but they were too far away from where they stood and didn’t feel like yelling. A small frown formed on their lips and they turned around, opening the front door and taking a step inside. 

 

Phosphophyllite was waiting for them, standing a few feet away from the doorway and their bright eyes looked at them curiously. The two of them had an awkward staring contest for a few solid minutes before the adult in the house clears their throat to get the others attention. “My friend said that they’re going to take us somewhere in a little bit, so get ready to leave.”

 

The child nodded, turning around and scurried off to go put on the clothes the adult bought for them yesterday. The other watched them disappear into another room before they sighed and went into their own bedroom and changed their clothes to look somewhat decent. 

 

It wasn’t long before they put on an old sweatshirt with torn jeans and slip on shoes before they went out of their room and went to the waiting child. They watched their shirt rise up and bunch up in the back as the little kid slid off of the couch, stretching their feet so they could touch the ground. Phos walked over to them and moved their freckled face to look up at the adult in front of them, their shining teal eyes looking at them curiously.  

 

Cinnabar looked at them for a few small seconds before they pat their head gently before they walked to the door, the small child following them outside. They felt the others small hand grab onto the fabric of their sweatshirt as the child trailed closely behind them. 

 

Once the two of them got to the gravelly bottom of the stairs, they went to Diamonds car where they smiled happily at them. “Are you two ready?”

 

Phos only nodded with a barely audible hum before they opened the back door and went into the empty seat. The red gem didn’t say anything until they were sitting next to the other, “Where are you taking us?”

 

“It’s a secret.”

 

“Of course…” they said with a small sigh, sinking into the chair as they listened to their friend laugh a little bit. The car ride was silent after that, no one really coming up with anything to say to anyone else in the car. Cinnabar didn’t have anything to say to Dia since they don’t go to school and nothing new happened, Phos was quiet as a mouse like they usually were, and Diamond just chose to be quiet— which was quite odd since they are usually pretty talkative. 

 

They ended up going to a restaurant that they’ve never been before and that was probably because it was expensive. Phos seemed more interested in the place when they were waiting to sit down rather than looking at the menu. They weren’t frowning or complaining like half of the annoying children stuff in the place, they just looked uninterested. Cinnabar felt the same way about the place but didn’t want to say anything to Diamond since they snapped at them not too long ago. 

 

They all ordered what they wanted to eat before the colorful gem tried to make a small talk to the child, asking them questions about how they liked being with Cinnabar. And as usual, the teal gem didn’t say anything and only nodded and shook their head to the questions that were thrown to them. The other adult at the table was the one telling them what they did and all of the stuff like that and the other nodded in agreement to what they said. 

 

A wave of relief came over the redhead shoulders when the waiter who was at their table gave them the food that they ordered. Once everything was placed down, the table went back into an awkward silence like before and the only sound was silverware hitting against the plates. The red gem constantly looked at the other worriedly from how they’ve been acting ever since they came by. 

 

It was around when Phos simply mouthed ‘bathroom’ to the adult before they slid off of the chair and their teal head went bobbing away as they walked away from the table. Cinnabar sighed and looked at the other sternly, “what’s going on with you?”

 

“What do you mean by that?” Diamond asked as their head was slightly tilted to the side. 

 

“You’re acting strange and you’re being extremely quiet for some reason, something's wrong and you’re not saying anything.”

 

The multicolored gem let out a small sigh before they have the other a sad smile, “Cinnabar, could you please come back to school?”

 

“I told you already-“

 

“Cinna, I know that you told me thousands of times that you don’t want to go back, but really think about it this time. Bort and I don’t talk anymore so I’m alone in most of my classes and I honestly missing being close with you. And sure, I might’ve lied about some-“

 

“Most.”

 

“Okay, I might’ve lied about most of the things Ghost said about you being gone, but they really do miss you. They don’t say it, but you could tell that they do.”

 

Cinnabar frowned and looked at them before they sighed and averted their eyes to look somewhere else, “fine, I’ll think about it.”

 

“Really!?” Diamond asked loudly, most likely having people turn around and look at them curiously. 

 

“I said that I’ll think about it, don’t get all excited about that!” The other snapped before they rested their chin on the palm of their hand as they let their frown grow. 

 

The child came back not too long after that and they got boxes to go before they all piled back into Diamonds car. When they went inside, the two of them relaxed for a while before they went to the nearest store to get more food, of course dodging the front of the school. 

 

Once they got back, they went back to doing absolutely nothing almost all day. Cinnabar found themselves laying on the living room floor while Phosphophyllite day on the couch watching whatever cartoons were showing on the tv. They sighed as they rolled onto their stomach and closed their eyes, definitely not wanting to even think about going back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This meant to be mostly about Cinnabar and Phos trying to get to know each other, but uhhh.... I got sidetracked so have a chapter about Cinnabar’s and Dia’s friendship.


	3. Chapter 3

Cinnabar woke up to their room being illuminated from the dim sunlight, a frown on their lips as they stared at the ceiling. They stayed there for a little bit before they looked to the side, finding that the small child that usually slept with them was gone. They stared at the crumpled sheets for a little bit before they got up to look for the little kid, moving their messy hair out of their face as they let out a big yawn. 

 

Phosphophyllite was curled up on the couch, their bright teal eyes illuminated by the lit television in front of them. The adult walked up to them and sat down next to them, looking at the screen before looking down at the child next to them. “When did you wake up?”

 

“Um…” the other hummed, voice barely audible from the commotion from the show they were watching. They got out of the small ball that they were in and crawled closer to them, their small finger touching their phone and looking at the time. “An hour ago.”

 

“Are you hungry?”

 

They nodded.

 

“You know that you could have woken me up and I would have made you something.”

 

“I didn’t want to though,” Phos replied as they slid off the couch and followed Cinnabar into the kitchen. 

 

It’s been about two weeks since Diamond dropped Phosphophyllite without any word and the two got just a tad bit closer than when they first arrived. The child got it in their head that they didn’t really need to be all that afraid of the adult and opened up a little bit to them and talked more. Although they were still quiet as a mouse, they were able to have actual conversations with the other and that seemed like a big step for the both of them. 

 

The redhead also somehow managed to act more of an adult in the two weeks they had the smaller person with them. They got better at cooking and started to clean up after themselves (which surprised them the most out of everything that they did recently). Although they still haven’t taken 1 step back into their school building, they felt like they grew up just a little bit more. 

 

Cinnabar made the two of them breakfast with what they had before they the two of them ate together, Phosphophyllite having their chair close to the other. “Can we go to the park today?”

 

“It’s going to storm later today, you know that right?”

 

“Mmm…” phos hummed as they frowned and looked at the ground, the adult in the room looked at them before they sighed and pat their head. 

 

“I have to go to the store later anyways, so we can make a short visit there on the way back.”

 

Phosphophyllite looked at them for a few seconds before they smiled at them and gave them a happy nod of agreement. They finished the food in front of them before they left the seat they were sitting in and scurried off to their room to change clothes. Cinnabar watched them leave before they got with a sigh, going to the sink and washed all of the dishes that they had used to eat. When they were done, they went to change their clothes before they left with the child. 

 

They went to the store, got what they needed plus a little extra stuff, and then made their way to the park that wasn’t too far away. The adult placed their bags of bought goods on the ground before sitting down and watching the child run around and play with the things available to them. Their lips curved in a smile as they watched them before they looked up at the steadily darkening sky, a sigh leaving their lips before looking back at the kid. They stayed there until the sky grew dark enough to where it was worrying, the both of them grabbing their stuff and going back to the apartment. 

 

Phos retreated back to the couch to watch whatever show was playing on tv while Cinnabar went to the kitchen to put things up. When they were done, they sat next to the little kid and watched the show that they were watching. They did that until the both of them were hungry, retreating from the couch and went to the kitchen to eat. Afterwards, they ended going back to Cinnabar’s room to take a nap since they both had nothing to do, both of them falling asleep to the steadily increasing sound of thunder. 

 

The adult never thought anything about the storm since they’ve dealt with them their 20 years of living their life. But with all of the years with experience, none of them had prepared them to wake up in the dark to the sound of crying. Once their mind processed that the child they were supposed to be watching was gone from the bed and was crying somewhere, they jumped out of bed and grabbed their phone. “Phos?” They called out, turning the flashlight on their phone as they walked out of their bedroom. 

 

Cinnabar saw the teal hair of the child in the corner of the living room, hugging their legs tightly as their head was buried in their knees. They went over to them and get touched their shoulder, their fingertips lightly grazing the clothing they had on before they jumped. Phosphophyllite quickly moved away from them when they felt their touch, their scared and wet eyes looking at them as they cried. When they realized that it was the redhead they lived with, they closed the gap that they made and hugged them tightly as they sobbed in their chest. 

 

The red gem looked at them confusedly before they placed their phone down and hugged them back, a hand resting on their soft hair. “Phos? What’s wrong?”

 

They felt the others small fingers grasp onto the back of their shirt as they moved their head to look at them. “I-It’s dark…” they muttered, their voice shaking. Cinnabar let out a gentle sigh before they held the other close, allowing them to cry. 

 

It was a while of sitting where they were before they let go of the child and got up a little bit, the child clinging onto their clothing as they got up. “D-Don’t leave…” they muttered, tears starting to form in their eyes once again. 

 

“I’m going to get something real quick, I won’t be long, I promise.”

 

“Don’t leave me,” the other sobbed, still clinging onto them as they moved. “I don’t want to be alone.”

 

“Phos-“

 

“Don’t leave!!” They yelled loudly, their small hands letting go of their now-crumpled shirt before they hugged them tightly. Their teal head rested on their stomach as they stayed where they let out and small whimpers. 

 

“I’ll leave the light with you,” Cinnabar muttered quietly, their hands gently covering the others smaller ones. “And if you’re still scared, I’ll come back and I’ll take you with me, Okay?”

 

Phosphophyllite sniffled before they nodded, letting go of their clothes and grabbed their phone so they could be with the light. The redhead watched them before quickly walking to their room, immediately grabbing a box of matches that was shoved into one of the drawers. They tossed it on the bed before making a small circle in their room, their eye catching the small glint of a glass from a candle. They tossed it on their bed as well before they went they got on their knees, cursing underneath their breath as they couldn’t see anything. 

 

They dug around in drawers and dressers for the thing that they were looking for, a heavy sigh leaving their lips before they sat up and felt like giving up their search. Cinnabar turned to look at the door when they noticed that they light started to get closer to them along with the sound of sniffling.  Their red eyes looked at them softly before giving them a small smile, “Come here.”

 

Phos nodded before their teal head bobbed as they walked closer to them, their small hands holding their phone as they looked at them with teary eyes. The adult carefully took their phone from them before they looked through the drawers for the thing that they were looking for. When they didn’t find it, they handed the device back to the child behind them and pointed to the dresser on the other side of the bed. “Can you look in the drawers over there?”

 

They nodded before they walked to the other side of the room, “what am I looking for?” They asked as they pulled open a drawer. 

 

“A deck of cards, it should be red.” The other replied, lighting a match and starting to light the candles that they gathered up. They listened to the other dig around for a little bit before they took it out, going back to them and looking at them. 

 

Cinnabar took the cards and their phone from Phosphophyllite, handing them a lit candle before they went into the living room. They put their phone and the pack on the floor before the two of the placed the candles around the apartment so they could have some light. The both of them took a seat on the floor, the child across from them and watched them moved the cards around. 

 

They ended up playing multiple rounds of playing go fish, the red haired adult rigging the game so the smaller human could win and be happy. When it was almost midnight, Phosphophyllite put a pause to the game so they could go to the bathroom. The adult didn’t think much about it, the only problem that they really had was every time they moved the child would worriedly ask “Are you still here?”  

 

Once that problem was solved, the two of them went back to the place on the floor and continued to play their game of cards until the both of them both fell asleep on the floor. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaa sorry this hasn’t been updated in a while!! I’ve been updating one of stories for the past week like crazy and I forgot about it. It’s been on my mind, but I kept on forgetting to go on and finish it.


End file.
